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The Mad King by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . THE GRATITUDE OF A KING THE GRATITUDE OF A KING At the cry silence fell upon the throng. Every head was turned toward the great doors through which the head of a procession was just visible. It was a grim looking procession—the head of it, at least. There were four khaki-clad trumpeters from the Royal Horse Guards, the gay and resplendent uniforms which they should have donned today conspicuous for their absence. From their brazen bugles sounded another loud fanfare, and then they separated, two upon each side of the aisle, and between them marched three men. One was tall, with gray eyes and had a reddish-brown beard. He was fully clothed in the coronation robes of Leopold. Upon his either hand walked the others—Lieutenant Butzow and a gray-eyed, smooth-faced, square-jawed stranger. Behind them marched the balance of the Royal Horse Guards that were not already on duty within the cathedral. As the eyes of the multitude fell upon the man in the coronation robes there were cries of: “The king! Impostor!” and “Von der Tann’s puppet!” “Denounce him!” whispered one of Peter’s henchmen in his master’s ear. The Regent moved closer to the aisle, that he might meet the impostor at the foot of the chancel steps. The procession was moving steadily up the aisle. Among the clan of Von der Tann a young girl with wide eyes was bending forward that she might have a better look at the face of the king. As he came opposite her her eyes filled with horror, and then she saw the eyes of the smooth-faced stranger at the king’s side. They were brave, laughing eyes, and as they looked straight into her own the truth flashed upon her, and the girl gave a gasp of dismay as she realized that the king of Lutha and the king of her heart were not one and the same. At last the head of the procession was almost at the foot of the chancel steps. There were murmurs of: “It is not the king,” and “Who is this new impostor?” Leopold’s eyes were searching the faces of the close-packed nobility about the chancel. At last they fell upon the face of Peter. The young man halted not two paces from the Regent. The man went white as the king’s eyes bored straight into his miserable soul. “Peter of Blentz,” cried the young man, “as God is your judge, tell the truth today. Who am I?” The legs of the Prince Regent trembled. He sank upon his knees, raising his hands in supplication toward the other. “Have pity on me, your majesty, have pity!” he cried. “Who am I, man?” insisted the king. “You are Leopold Rubinroth, sire, by the grace of God, king of Lutha,” cried the frightened man. “Have mercy on an old man, your majesty.” “Wait! Am I mad? Was I ever mad?” “As God is my judge, sire, no!” replied Peter of Blentz. Leopold turned to Butzow. “Remove the traitor from our presence,” he commanded, and at a word from the lieutenant a dozen guardsmen seized the trembling man and hustled him from the cathedral amid hisses and execrations. Following the coronation the king was closeted in his private audience chamber in the palace with Prince Ludwig. “I cannot understand what has happened, even now, your majesty,” the old man was saying. “That you are the true Leopold is all that I am positive of, for the discomfiture of Prince Peter evidenced that fact all too plainly. But who the impostor was who ruled Lutha in your name for two days, disappearing as miraculously as he came, I cannot guess. “But for another miracle which preserved you for us in the nick of time he might now be wearing the crown of Lutha in your stead. Having Peter of Blentz safely in custody our next immediate task should be to hunt down the impostor and bring him to justice also; though”—and the old prince sighed—“he was indeed a brave man, and a noble figure of a king as he led your troops to battle.” The king had been smiling as Von der Tann first spoke of the “impostor,” but at the old man’s praise of the other’s bravery a slight flush tinged his cheek, and the shadow of a scowl crossed his brow. “Wait,” he said, “we shall not have to look far for your ‘impostor,’” and summoning an aide he dispatched him for “Lieutenant Butzow and Mr. Custer.” A moment later the two entered the audience chamber. Barney found that Leopold the king, surrounded by comforts and safety, was a very different person from Leopold the fugitive. The weak face now wore an expression of arrogance, though the king spoke most graciously to the American. “Here, Von der Tann,” said Leopold, “is your ‘impostor.’ But for him I should doubtless be dead by now, or once again a prisoner at Blentz.” Barney and Butzow found it necessary to repeat their stories several times before the old man could fully grasp all that had transpired beneath his very nose without his being aware of scarce a single detail of it. When he was finally convinced that they were telling the truth, he extended his hand to the American. “I knelt to you once, young man,” he said, “and kissed your hand. I should be filled with bitterness and rage toward you. On the contrary, I find that I am proud to have served in the retinue of such an impostor as you, for you upheld the prestige of the house of Rubinroth upon the battlefield, and though you might have had a crown, you refused it and brought the true king into his own.” Leopold sat tapping his foot upon the carpet. It was all very well if he, the king, chose to praise the American, but there was no need for old von der Tann to slop over so. The king did not like it. As a matter of fact, he found himself becoming very jealous of the man who had placed him upon his throne. “There is only one thing that I can harbor against you,” continued Prince Ludwig, “and that is that in a single instance you deceived me, for an hour before the coronation you told me that you were a Rubinroth.” “I told you, prince,” corrected Barney, “that the royal blood of Rubinroth flowed in my veins, and so it does. I am the son of the runaway Princess Victoria of Lutha.” Both Leopold and Ludwig looked their surprise, and to the king’s eyes came a sudden look of fear. With the royal blood in his veins, what was there to prevent this popular hero from some day striving for the throne he had once refused? Leopold knew that the minds of men were wont to change most unaccountably. “Butzow,” he said suddenly to the lieutenant of horse, “how many do you imagine know positively that he who has ruled Lutha for the past two days and he who was crowned in the cathedral this noon are not one and the same?” “Only a few besides those who are in this room, your majesty,” replied Butzow. “Peter and Coblich have known it from the first, and then there is Kramer, the loyal old shopkeeper of Tafelberg, who followed Coblich and Maenck all night and half a day as they dragged the king to the hiding-place where we found him. Other than these there may be those who guess the truth, but there are none who know.” For a moment the king sat in thought. Then he rose and commenced pacing back and forth the length of the apartment. “Why should they ever know?” he said at last, halting before the three men who had been standing watching him. “For the sake of Lutha they should never know that another than the true king sat upon the throne even for an hour.” He was thinking of the comparison that might be drawn between the heroic figure of the American and his own colorless part in the events which had led up to his coronation. In his heart of hearts he felt that old Von der Tann rather regretted that the American had not been the king, and he hated the old man accordingly, and was commencing to hate the American as well. Prince Ludwig stood looking at the carpet after the king had spoken. His judgment told him that the king’s suggestion was a wise one; but he was sorry and ashamed that it had come from Leopold. Butzow’s lips almost showed the contempt that he felt for the ingratitude of his king. Barney Custer was the first to speak. “I think his majesty is quite right,” he said, “and tonight I can leave the palace after dark and cross the border some time tomorrow evening. The people need never know the truth.” Leopold looked relieved. “We must reward you, Mr. Custer,” he said. “Name that which it lies within our power to grant you and it shall be yours.” Barney thought of the girl he loved; but he did not mention her name, for he knew that she was not for him now. “There is nothing, your majesty,” he said. “A money reward,” Leopold started to suggest, and then Barney Custer lost his temper. A flush mounted to his face, his chin went up, and there came to his lips bitter words of sarcasm. With an effort, however, he held his tongue, and, turning his back upon the king, his broad shoulders proclaiming the contempt he felt, he walked slowly out of the room. Von der Tann and Butzow and Leopold of Lutha stood in silence as the American passed out of sight beyond the portal. The manner of his going had been an affront to the king, and the young ruler had gone red with anger. “Butzow,” he cried, “bring the fellow back; he shall be taught a lesson in the deference that is due kings.” Butzow hesitated. “He has risked his life a dozen times for your majesty,” said the lieutenant. Leopold flushed. “Do not humiliate him, sire,” advised Von der Tann. “He has earned a greater reward at your hands than that.” The king resumed his pacing for a moment, coming to a halt once more before the two. “We shall take no notice of his insolence,” he said, “and that shall be our royal reward for his services. More than he deserves, we dare say, at that.” As Barney hastened through the palace on his way to his new quarters to obtain his arms and order his horse saddled, he came suddenly upon a girlish figure gazing sadly from a window upon the drear November world—her heart as sad as the day. At the sound of his footstep she turned, and as her eyes met the gray ones of the man she stood poised as though of half a mind to fly. For a moment neither spoke. “Can your highness forgive?” he asked. For answer the girl buried her face in her hands and dropped upon the cushioned window seat before her. The American came close and knelt at her side. “Don’t,” he begged as he saw her shoulders rise to the sudden sobbing that racked her slender frame. “Don’t!” He thought that she wept from mortification that she had given her kisses to another than the king. “None knows,” he continued, “what has passed between us. None but you and I need ever know. I tried to make you understand that I was not Leopold; but you would not believe. It is not my fault that I loved you. It is not my fault that I shall always love you. Tell me that you forgive me my part in the chain of strange circumstances that deceived you into an acknowledgment of a love that you intended for another. Forgive me, Emma!” Down the corridor behind them a tall figure approached on silent, noiseless feet. At sight of the two at the window seat it halted. It was the king. The girl looked up suddenly into the eyes of the American bending so close above her. “I can never forgive you,” she cried, “for not being the king, for I am betrothed to him—and I love you!” Before she could prevent him, Barney Custer had taken her in his arms, and though at first she made a pretense of attempting to escape, at last she lay quite still. Her arms found their way about the man’s neck, and her lips returned the kisses that his were showering upon her upturned mouth. Presently her glance wandered above the shoulder of the American, and of a sudden her eyes filled with terror, and, with a little gasp of consternation, she struggled to free herself. “Let me go!” she whispered. “Let me go—the king!” Barney sprang to his feet and, turning, faced Leopold. The king had gone quite white. “Failing to rob me of my crown,” he cried in a trembling voice, “you now seek to rob me of my betrothed! Go to your father at once, and as for you—you shall learn what it means for you thus to meddle in the affairs of kings.” Barney saw the terrible position in which his love had placed the Princess Emma. His only thought now was for her. Bowing low before her he spoke so that the king might hear, yet as though his words were for her ears alone. “Your highness knows the truth, now,” he said, “and that after all I am not the king. I can only ask that you will forgive me the deception. Now go to your father as the king commands.” Slowly the girl turned away. Her heart was torn between love for this man, and her duty toward the other to whom she had been betrothed in childhood. The hereditary instinct of obedience to her sovereign was strong within her, and the bonds of custom and society held her in their relentless shackles. With a sob she passed up the corridor, curtsying to the king as she passed him. When she had gone Leopold turned to the American. There was an evil look in the little gray eyes of the monarch. “You may go your way,” he said coldly. “We shall give you forty-eight hours to leave Lutha. Should you ever return your life shall be the forfeit.” The American kept back the hot words that were ready upon the end of his tongue. For her sake he must bow to fate. With a slight inclination of his head toward Leopold he wheeled and resumed his way toward his quarters. Half an hour later as he was about to descend to the courtyard where a trooper of the Royal Horse held his waiting mount, Butzow burst suddenly into his room. “For God’s sake,” cried the lieutenant, “get out of this. The king has changed his mind, and there is an officer of the guard on his way here now with a file of soldiers to place you under arrest. Leopold swears that he will hang you for treason. Princess Emma has spurned him, and he is wild with rage.” The dismal November twilight had given place to bleak night as two men cantered from the palace courtyard and turned their horses’ heads northward toward Lutha’s nearest boundary. All night they rode, stopping at daylight before a distant farm to feed and water their mounts and snatch a mouthful for themselves. Then onward once again they pressed in their mad flight. Now that day had come they caught occasional glimpses of a body of horsemen far behind them, but the border was near, and their start such that there was no danger of their being overtaken. “For the thousandth time, Butzow,” said one of the men, “will you turn back before it is too late?” But the other only shook his head obstinately, and so they came to the great granite monument which marks the boundary between Lutha and her powerful neighbor upon the north. Barney held out his hand. “Good-bye, old man,” he said. “If I’ve learned the ingratitude of kings here in Lutha, I have found something that more than compensates me—the friendship of a brave man. Now hurry back and tell them that I escaped across the border just as I was about to fall into your hands and they will think that you have been pursuing me instead of aiding in my escape across the border.” But again Butzow shook his head. “I have fought shoulder to shoulder with you, my friend,” he said. “I have called you king, and after that I could never serve the coward who sits now upon the throne of Lutha. I have made up my mind during this long ride from Lustadt, and I have come to the decision that I should prefer to raise corn in Nebraska with you rather than serve in the court of an ingrate.” “Well, you are an obstinate Dutchman, after all,” replied the American with a smile, placing his hand affectionately upon the shoulder of his comrade. There was a clatter of horses’ hoofs upon the gravel of the road behind them. The two men put spurs to their mounts, and Barney Custer galloped across the northern boundary of Lutha just ahead of a troop of Luthanian cavalry, as had his father thirty years before; but a royal princess had accompanied the father—only a soldier accompanied the son. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1995). The Mad King. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/364/pg364-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

THE GRATITUDE OF A KING

The Essays of Adam Smith, by Adam Smith is part of HackerNoon’s Book Blog Post series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Part II, SEC. I, Chapter II: Of the proper Objects of Gratitude and Resen. Chapter II. Of the proper Objects of Gratitude and Resentment TO be the proper and approved object either of gratitude or resentment, can mean nothing but to be the object of that gratitude and of that resentment which naturally seems proper, and is approved of. But these, as well as all the other passions of human nature, seem proper and are approved of, when the heart of every impartial spectator entirely sympathizes with them, when every indifferent by-stander entirely enters into and goes along with them. He, therefore, appears to deserve reward, who, to some person or persons, is the natural object of a gratitude which every human heart is disposed to beat time to, and thereby applaud: and he, on the other hand, appears to deserve punishment, who in the same manner is to some person or persons the natural object of a resentment which the breast of every reasonable man is ready to adopt and sympathize with. To us, surely, that action must appear to deserve reward, which every body who knows of it would wish to reward, and therefore delights to see rewarded: and that action must as surely appear to deserve punishment, which every body who hears of it is angry with, and upon that account rejoices to see punished. 1. As we sympathize with the joy of our companions, when in prosperity, so we join with them in the complacency and satisfaction with which they naturally regard whatever is the cause of their good fortune. We enter into the love and affection which they conceive for it, and begin to love it too. We should be sorry for their sakes if it was destroyed, or even if it was placed at too great a distance from them, and out of the reach of their care and protection, though they should lose nothing by its absence except the pleasure of seeing it. If it is man who has thus been the fortunate instrument of the happiness of his brethren, this is still more peculiarly the case. When we see one man assisted, protected, relieved by another, our sympathy with the joy of the person who receives the benefit serves only to animate our fellow-feeling with his gratitude towards him who bestows it. When we look upon the person who is the cause of his pleasure with the eyes with which we imagine he must look upon him, his benefactor seems to stand before us in the most engaging and amiable light. We readily therefore sympathize with the grateful affection which he conceives for a person to whom he has been so much obliged; and consequently applaud the returns which he is disposed to make for the good offices conferred upon him. As we entirely enter into the affection from which these returns proceed, they necessarily seem every way proper and suitable to their object. 2. In the same manner, as we sympathize with the sorrow of our fellow-creature whenever we see his distress, so we likewise enter into his abhorrence and aversion for whatever has given occasion to it. Our heart, as it adopts and beats time to his grief, so is it likewise animated with that spirit by which he endeavours to drive away or destroy the cause of it. The indolent and passive fellow-feeling, by which we accompany him in his sufferings, readily gives way to that more vigorous and active sentiment by which we go along with him in the effort he makes, either to repeal them, or to gratify his aversion to what has given occasion to them. This is still more peculiarly the case, when it is man who has caused them. When we see one man oppressed or injured by another, the sympathy which we feel with the distress of the sufferer seems to serve only to animate our fellow-feeling with his resentment against the offender. We are rejoiced to see him attack his adversary in his turn, and are eager and ready to assist him whenever he exerts himself for defence, or even for vengeance within a certain degree. If the injured should perish in the quarrel, we not only sympathize with the real resentment of his friends and relations, but with the imaginary resentment which in fancy we lend to the dead, who is no longer capable of feeling that or any other human sentiment. But as we put ourselves in his situation, as we enter, as it were, into his body, and in our imaginations, in some measure, animate anew the deformed and mangled carcass of the slain, when we bring home in this manner his case to our own bosoms, we feel upon this, as upon many other occasions, an emotion which the person principally concerned is incapable of feeling, and which yet we feel by an illusive  sympathy with him. The sympathetic tears which we shed for that immense and irretrievable loss, which in our fancy he appears to have sustained, seem to be but a small part of the duty which we owe him. The injury which he has suffered demands, we think, a principal part of our attention. We feel that resentment which we imagine he ought to feel, and which he would feel, if in his cold and lifeless body there remained any consciousness of what passes upon earth. His blood, we think, calls aloud for vengeance. The very ashes of the dead seem to be disturbed at the thought that his injuries are to pass unrevenged. The horrors which are supposed to haunt the bed of the murderer, the ghosts which superstition imagines rise from their graves to demand vengeance upon those who brought them to an untimely end, all take their origin from this natural sympathy with the imaginary resentment of the slain. And with regard, at least, to this most dreadful of all crimes, Nature, antecedent to all reflection upon the utility of punishment, has in this manner stamped upon the human heart, in the strongest and most indelible characters, an immediate and instinctive approbation of the sacred and necessary law of retaliation. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Smith, Adam. 2018. The Essays of Adam Smith. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved May 2022 from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58559/58559-h/58559-h.htm#page63 This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

The Essays of Adam Smith: Part II, SEC. I, Chapter II - Of the proper Objects of Gratitude and Resen

HackerNoon Reporter: Please tell us briefly about your  background. Here goes an attempt at briefly: (1) Came over as refugees with my parents from the USSR at a young age with just the clothes on our back; (2) Tried to sell the Milky Way Galaxy on eBay as a way not to go to college -- almost worked; (3) Started a dozen business ventures while at college -- one worked ( )!; ( ViralGains (4) Fast forward nine wonderful years, which brings us to the present day. How’s that for brief? What's your startup called? And in a sentence or two, what does it do? ViralGains provides digital advertising software for customer-centric advertising and intelligent ad journey orchestration. We enable marketers to create unique ad journeys on leading demand-side platforms that improve brand trust, drive customer action, and reduce wasted ad spend by making ads relevant to real-time customer sentiment and behavior. What is the origin story? During senior year of college, I was inspired to start ViralGains after recognizing the storytelling power of video as a medium for building authentic, meaningful connections between brands, and the people they seek to serve. Ever get stalked by the same ad everywhere you browse online for months on end? Ever seen an ad for a product you have absolutely no intention of buying? Ever wished the brand would simply ask you if you were actually interested in said product, or catered advertising to your personal preferences, and unique buying journey? Yeah, me too! Brands spend half a trillion dollars per year advertising their products and services globally, while only a tiny 4% of advertising effectively changes a consumer’s opinion about a brand. At that rate, the number of wasted brand dollars every year could solve world hunger 16 times over. Now that is a scary and sad fact. Building a product that solved the enormous inefficiencies in digital advertising seemed like a win-win for everyone: consumers, marketers and publishers alike. What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem? We are focused on developing and empowering our team. Step 1: Hire people far smarter than you. Step 2: Give them the tools to succeed. Step 3: Unblock them when they occasionally get stuck. Step 4: Continuously and relentlessly help develop them to be the best versions of themselves, and Step 5: Hire more smart people and start again. This is our driving culture and it results in the company always striving to deliver the best. If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing? Following another dream or passion. I have always been terrified of the “deferred life plan.” You know, the go-to-school-for-25-years-work-for-40-and-retire-at-65 plan. I want to live life on my own terms. For all we know, it’s the only one we’ll get! Happiness is found at the intersection of doing something you’re really good at, that you love doing, and is useful to the world – so this is what I would seek out. At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your core metrics? If we’re talking about success at the company, then the first most obvious metrics include the ones everyone would be looking at -- topline growth, market penetration, . For me though, the real important core metric is our employee satisfaction and retention. It tells me our folks find the work they do meaningful. If we’re talking about my personal success, then it’s two core metrics: yadda yadda yadda (1) How much gratitude I feel when waking up in the morning, and (2) How little regret I have for how I spent my day when I’m going to bed. If one is consistently going up and the other down, respectively, I am successful. What’s most exciting about your traction to date? We’ve saved the advertisers we work with incredible sums of money from otherwise inefficient ways of advertising, and in the process connected innumerable tens of millions of consumers and brands together in a meaningful way since our inception. In other words, what’s most exciting about our traction to date is the very output of why we exist! Oh, and it’s pretty cool that we raised $27 million from investors for ViralGains along the way, helping the company to be a powerhouse, and an authority on digital video advertising. What technologies are you currently most excited about, and most worried about? And why? Technology I’m currently most excited about: real AI. Technology I’m currently most worried about: real AI. Why? Have you seen the future documentary, Terminator? And/or its equally as terrifying mini series, Black Mirror? Any questions? 😅 What drew you to get published on HackerNoon? What do you like most about our platform? ViralGains is nominated for Boston start-up of the year, and we want to share our story and what makes the company unique. HackerNoon shares our ethos for making the internet a better space – they deliver great stories from a loyal community without the noise that dilutes the reader experience. What advice would you give to the 21-year-old version of yourself? I would say take far better care of your health, you dummy! In priority order: sleep enough per night that you wake up naturally without needing an alarm clock, then drink ~100oz of water daily plus/minus somewhat based on activity, then meditate, then lift weights/exercise, then cut out processed and carb-heavy foods, and finally practice gratitude daily. Rinse and repeat for the next 10 years. What is something surprising you've learned this year that your contemporaries would benefit from knowing? Two great quotes come to mind here: (1) “In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity” -- Albert Einstein and (2) “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” -- Maya Angeloua. In the midst of a pandemic, our society has also faced realities about social injustice as a country and simultaneously dealt with a very divided presidential election. What that has done to most of us is substantially lowered our tolerance for bullshit and inauthenticity. This means it is time to do away with the status quo and get with the program, now... because people are tired, their attention is limited, and their tolerance for pandering without action sailed away a long time ago. My advice for marketers in all industries: listen to your customers and invest in technologies that help you do so effectively, respond to them authentically, and place your core values at the center of all your decision making. Do these things, and consumers will thank you with their attention and wallets. Vote for ViralGains for Startup of the Year in Boston

Success is Gratitude When You Wake Up and No Regrets Before You Sleep

Gratitude works its magic by serving as an antidote to negative emotions. It’s like white blood cells for the soul, protecting us from cynicism, entitlement, anger, and resignation. , Thrive. — Arianna Huffington There’s so much power and pleasure in the feeling of gratitude. Appreciation for something — or someone — fuels a positive mental attitude and has been scientifically proven to increase happiness and joy in our lives. From Oprah to Tim Ferriss to Arianna Huffington to Emma Watson, these four successful business owners, entrepreneurs, and celebrities have the art of practicing gratitude in common. Be grateful. Focus on joy. Tim says, Ferriss “It’s easy to obsess over pushing the ball forward as a type-A personality, which leads to being constantly future-focused. If anxiety is a focus on  the future, practicing appreciation, even for 2 to 3 minutes, is counter-balancing medicine.” What is a gratitude journal A gratitude journal is simply writing down the positive events in your life at the end of the day. Establishing a daily practice in which you express gratitude for things in your life you appreciate — gifts of peace, grace, people, good things — gives you an overall feeling of happiness, which permeates your life. You can make a list or write in more detailed expressions about each positive event. Write what you are thankful for. What we focus on is what we build and what we attract Oprah was the first person I heard talk about the benefits of a gratitude journal. has kept a gratitude journal for a full two decades and speaks of the gifts and the power of gratitude often. Oprah She makes daily gratitude a priority saying, “I go through the day looking for things to be grateful for, and something always shows up.” I bet it’s pretty easy to find things to be grateful for when you are Oprah, but we mere mortals can benefit from this practice also. Nearly every successful person I have read about includes gratitude in their lives. speaks of her gratitude practice saying, Emma Watson “I love the idea of starting my day by listing three things I’m grateful for and going to bed thinking about the three amazing things that happened in the day. I’m a big believer in the transformative practice of gratitude.” Robert Emmons of says gratitude may seem like a simple emotion, but he argues that appreciation inspires kindness, connection, and transformative life changes. Greater Good Magazine Emmons’s research partnership with at the University of Miami has led to several significant findings about gratitude, Michael McCullough “We’ve discovered scientific proof that when people regularly work on cultivating gratitude, they experience a variety of measurable benefits: psychological, physical, and social. In some cases, people have reported that gratitude led to transformative life changes.” In one study, Emmons and McCullough asked participants to keep a gratitude journal every day for two weeks. Those who kept a gratitude journal reported feeling “more joyful, enthusiastic, interested, attentive, energetic, excited, determined, and strong.” Benefits of a gratitude journal Better sleep, Increased general feeling of happiness, Boosted immune system, Lower stress levels, A greater sense of calmIncreased self-awareness. By focusing on what you are grateful for, you become more clear on what is working and what you want more of in life — you start to focus on those things. How to keep a gratitude journal All it takes is 15 minutes a day. Apps like which is built on Blockstack platform help you fight the inertia of journaling by using technology and helps you feel secure by keeping it completely decentralized and private. Studies suggest that writing in a gratitude journal three times per week might have a more significant impact on our happiness than journaling every day. Inner Peace This is far more manageable than once a day, but if you want to write once a day, do that. The entries don’t have to be long or deep; they can be brief, mundane, and only a single sentence. For example, “my body felt good on my run” or “my health” or “the new book I just finished.” Studies have shown that you get more significant benefits when elaborating in detail about what you appreciate more than writing a brief list. It’s more important to keep a gratitude practice and making it as simple as possible, so the thought of not having enough time to write for more than 15 minutes doesn’t stop you from maintaining a gratitude journal at all. Write down as many things you can think of. It is your journal; you can write one or 20 good things. Some people recommend choosing five things to write about every day, but really, it can be more or less. Focusing on people to whom you are grateful rather than things has a greater positive impact. Although, again, keeping a gratitude journal is personal, and there is no “right” way to do it. Choose any time of day to write in your journal. Some keep a journal right on their nightstand and write what they are grateful for right before bed. Writing in the evening gives you a chance to reflect on the day and can serve as a nightly ritual. Writing before bed is a great way to quiet your mind. Write regularly, whether that is in the morning or at night, make it a routine, and honor that commitment. one The goal of journaling is to remember the good things — a person, an experience, an event — and then relish in the good feelings as you are writing about them. See these things as “gifts.” When you view them as gifts, you are less likely to take them for granted. When you choose to focus on the positive things happening in your life, instead of the negative stuff, you will attract more good things to you, and bring in more happiness. Gratitude and joy are strongly correlated — the research bears this out. Gratitude moves people to experience more positive emotions. When we focus on what we are grateful for, it reminds us that life is indeed good. Intentional activity — writing in a gratitude journal — accounts for about 40% of our happiness, according to PositivePsychology.com . Intentional activities are things we set out to do that increase our well-being and our happiness. By maintaining a gratitude journal, we further focus on intentional action by reflecting on those positive things that happened to us throughout the day, which increases our joy. With the holidays quickly approaching, appreciate the many gifts — like family and friends — and include them in your gratitude journal.

Importance of a Gratitude Journal 

Nir’s Note: This guest post comes from Brendan Kane who has built technology for MTV, Paramount, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and the NHL. In this article, Brendan describes how he reprogramed the way he views the world using little more than his iPhone and iPad to find happiness. We all have the power to change our lives and find happiness. I know this because I found ways to reprogram my inner circuitry and change my perspective of the world to ultimately find happiness. A few simple steps inserted into my daily routine dramatically improved my life and helped me feel more happy, joy, and fulfillment. Surprisingly, many of my new rituals were made possible using the technology I carry with me every day. Think Big “Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do.” -Steve Jobs I was trained to think small and seek comfort rather than risk. From an early age, many of us are told to think realistically and to leave the big audacious ideas to people with more experience and resources. But the truth is, as Steve Jobs said, “Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you.” We are all born with the same basic brain hardware and though there are variations in intelligence between people, the differences are relatively minor and show little correlation with life outcomes. However, what does make a difference is how much we believe in ourselves and our capabilities. A much greater determinant of where we will end up in life is whether we have what Stanford researcher calls a “fixed” or “growth mindset.” Carol Dweck I set out to remove the fixed mindset I had cultivated over the years. I did this through a daily practice of using my iPhone notes tool to brainstorm the biggest and craziest ideas I could think up. These ideas could be anything from starting a billion dollar business to designing a way to live on the moon. The practice of thinking big on a daily basis flexed my mind’s capacity to move past limitation and helped me become a more creative thinker. Use Gratitude to Change Your Attitude “Gratitude is the single most important ingredient to living a successful and fulfilled life.” -Jack Canfield One of the most impactful steps in reprogramming my brain to find happiness was to take a daily inventory of everything I was grateful for. Before I go to sleep each night, I make a list of the positive things that came into my life that day. For example, I might jot down a few words to remember a particularly beautiful sunset, a compliment I received, or even a meeting that went well. I use a on my phone to record these moments. gratitude app This routine sounds trivial but I found something strange happened when I adopted the practice. After about 30 days my perception of the world began to change. I became happier because I found myself more aware of the amazing things I had in my life. I would stop several times a day to smile in recognition and appreciation of the small things in life. The change also impacted my professional life. I started to attract more fulfilling business opportunities and more positive people to the projects I was working on. Carry Your Dreams With You “Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.” – Anais Nin What would you do tomorrow if you won the lottery? What are 10 things that you would want to accomplish with the rest of your life? Most people can only list a few things that they would do and some people can’t list any. I asked myself what the point was of running so hard toward financial independence when I really had no idea what I was going to do once I got there. If I didn’t know what I wanted, how could I achieve it? I discovered that one of the best ways to determine what I wanted was to create a dream book of images on my iPad that I could look at every morning and evening. I gathered a list of images that represented the things I wanted most in my life and I put images representing them on my iPad and iPhone. I often listen to my favorite music while I play a slide show of the pictures I use to remind me of the things I want to achieve, places I want to go, people I want to meet. I imagine what it would feel like if I had each of those things in my life. This exercise created a thought sequence that helped me set new goals in life and provided a deliberate destination that I could envision working and striving for each day. Perception is Reality Einstein said, “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one”. Indeed, we are highly influenced by the way we see things. Changing the direction of our lives seems difficult because many of us have been conditioned to believe it is not possible. But the truth is, changing our lives and finding happiness is as easy as changing the way we think. Changing my own life was a slow process, but I began to feel more happiness, joy and fulfillment by regularly incorporating these simple technology-facilitated habits. Image Credit: JD Hancock Note: This guest essay was written by Brendan Kane . If you found this post interesting, it would mean a lot to me if you could click on the “claps” icon below to let me know. That would really make my day — thanks! Nir Eyal is the author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and blogs about the psychology of products at NirAndFar.com .For more insights on changing behavior, join his free newsletter and receive a free workbook. https://www.nirandfar.com/subscribe?utm_source=medium&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Weekly%20Digest If you found this post interesting, it would mean a lot to me if you could click on the “claps” icon below to let me know. That would really make my day — thanks! Nir Eyal is the author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and blogs about the psychology of products at NirAndFar.com .For more insights on changing behavior, join his free newsletter and receive a free workbook. _Whether you are designing the behavior of your users or your own habits, you'll benefit from understanding the research…_www.nirandfar.com Subscribe Originally published at www.nirandfar.com on October 25, 2013.

Think Big, Use Gratitude to Change Your Attitude, and Carry Your Dreams With You

I’ve recently been trying to practice regularly to improve my perspective and overall mood. It’s been working out well but I’d continually go through patches where it’d get sidelined or I’d plain forget. gratitude So I built a very simple prompt to ensure I take a moment each day to be grateful. gratitude cli It’s easy to use, just install it globally. yarn global add gratitude or npm i gratitude -g and add it to your shell’s config. Typically or ~/.bashrc ~/.zshrc #~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrcgratitude You’ll then be prompted the first time you open your terminal each day. It’ll write you answer/s to the json db and keep track of your current streak. If you seriously don’t feel like doing it just that shit. Although skipping a day of course break your streak. ctrl c It’s also mildly configurable. Option Description Default times number of prompts per day 1 db path to db file ~/.gratitude/db.json Example: gratitude --times=2 --db=/some/folder/file.json Improvements: Hopefully I’ll have some time to add some smarter streak counting so you can configure it to ignore weekends etc. It’d also be nice to add some cool cli visuals to represent streaks and the db in general. Any input or contributions are of course . welcome Stay positive 👍

Gratitude — a gratitude journal for the terminal

The community shares one simple, unifying mission: to spread the power of optimism. In that spirit, the Life is Good tech team built a for some user-generated-thanksgiving. This widget will allow users to add “sticky notes” with their name and what they are grateful for to the gratitude board. Life is Good Gratitude Wall The Gratitude Wall is adapted from the Cosmic JS , built on , Redux and . The Wall is currently running on Heroku and is i-framed into WordPress on its landing page. The Life is Good team also built a simple moderation application so that their team can easily approve or delete User Generated Content as it flows in. They also built client-side moderation during content entry, which checks against a banned list of words and blocks submission. Sticky Notes App React Node.js “ provided us with a robust scaffolding to accept, store, and moderate User Generated Content and display it in a custom web app in real time. With , we were able to develop an MVP in a matter of hours and focus our resources on UX and design versus content management. The Support Team was extremely helpful throughout the process. We’re excited to leverage these tools again for future projects.” Cosmic JS Cosmic Cosmic — Chris Schwab, Front End Engineer Inspiration App The Life is Good was adapted from the Sticky Note app by one of our community members . Available for download and install . Gratitude Wall Jazib Sawar here _sticky-notes - A sticky note app built using React, Redux and powered by Cosmic JS._github.com cosmicjs/sticky-notes Ready to give Cosmic JS a try? and join the to build apps faster. Reach out to us on or . Sign Up Cosmic JS Community Twitter Slack Additional Reading

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